The Maine Coon — the history of the breed
The Maine coon cat or the Maine coon was selected North America more than 150 years ago and it is considered the national proud by right.
According to one of the legends, the cat is a child of love of a cat and a
The truth is that Maine coon cats are a natural population of American cats’ metropolis. Its formation had been determined by Nature for many years which made these cats big and physically fit animals able to survive in cold winters.
From old years the coon cat from the state of Maine had been living on farms and its main duty used to be fighting with a great number of rodents. Living in a semi-wild condition on farms, in villages and often in streets these cats were able to survive adapting to North England severe climate. Only the most enduring individuals with their well-developed muscular system got a possibility to participate in further breeding.
Maine coons grow up slowly and become adult only by
Maine coons’ important distinctive characters are their form of the head, ears, body and the texture of their hair.
The head is stretched in its length more than in its width, with a slightly sloped profile and high cheek-bones. The ears are big and wide at the foundation, highly set and well hairy inside. The ear tips look like lynx’s. The neck is of medium length the body is long, the breast is wide. The tail is as long as the body.
The Maine coon’s tail is its proud frequently described by writers as «a tail with a cat on its end». Once more Nature has proved that a beautiful tail can be an important factor of any animal survival. When a Mine coon lies down on cold land, it turns this heap of hair around it defending itself from cold. Foxes and other animals with downy tails behave the same way. The animal’s long tail is used as a propeller serving the animal’s coordination of movements.
The Maine coon’s hair is thick and short at its neck and shoulders, it gradually gets longer to the croup which allows it to move in forest and bushes. The hair at its back and sides is called «integumentary», it is a thick water-repellent hair serving to protect the animal from outside factors.
The Maine coon has extremely long moustache given to it by Nature. Being night hunters they were able to feel the proximity of branches and bushes without running on them in the darkness.
Maine coons have a long body with a wide breast and a huge weight and power.
But its world-wide adoration the breed has received not only because of its exterior but mostly because of its mild character and easy disposition. Supporting Maine coons for their abilities to hunt rats, people appreciated their friendliness and intelligence more and more. These severe looking giant cats lack aggression to a human being or other animals completely. Therefore they get on with families having small children, dogs or other animals easily.
The Maine coon is a wonderful animal arousing respect to itself. It wonderfully comprises power, force and grace with their creamy character, their wild and independent animal’s look with their tender purring. You will never hear any Maine coon’s heart-rending shouts or boring meowing, they are extremely musical and show all their emotions by melodic meowing.
They are very clever and noble animals which beauty makes us happy as everything that is ideal. Their intelligence is not smaller than their size, they are witty and logical in all their acts. These breed male-cats are never isolated from their kittens, because they take an active part in their upbringing along with
They get on perfectly well with all members of the family, but still prefer to find their one owner. They are polite and loyal to strangers but cannot stand any familiarity.
Maine coons have good memory. They can remember many words and intonations and can understand a human being even by a hardly noticeable gesture or look.
On the free Maine coons look very harmoniously and feel themselves wonderful. As usual they do not make any attempts to escape. They are not confused either with autumn puddles or winter snowdrifts.
Their love to water is unique. They enjoy playing with water and swimming, even if their owners rub them with shampoo. Maine coons do not require many special caring and are ideally suited for those who like long-hair cats but do not have time for their daily combing.
Maine coons are lively and curious. They have time for everything, anytime and anywhere. They help to cook dinner, watch TV, play games and go running. As all big animals, Maine coons should have free space to move around. They like watching their owners from height. Sometimes it seems that that they know about us than we think.
We can tell you a lot more about Maine coons, but it is much more interesting to watch them.
There is one advantage of this breed which you should remember when you open your doors to a Maine coon. One Maine coon is never enough to have. And having got yourself one such cat at home you will soon be looking for a second one!